


Alfred's Latest Scrapbook

by CloakedSparrow



Series: Collected Bat-Family Stories [39]
Category: Batman (Comics), DCU (Comics), Detective Comics (Comics), Nightwing (Comics)
Genre: Adopted Children, Bat Family, Batdad, DaddyBats, Father Figures, Fatherhood, Gen, Newspapers, No Dialogue, No Romance, No Sex, One Shot, POV Bruce Wayne, Scrapbooks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-10
Updated: 2018-08-10
Packaged: 2019-06-24 15:57:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15633939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CloakedSparrow/pseuds/CloakedSparrow
Summary: Bruce takes a peek at Alfred's latest scrapbook. Feelings ensue.





	Alfred's Latest Scrapbook

Bruce had seen Alfred with the book a few times now. He’d also seen his adopted father saving pages from the Gotham Gazette, as well as several local papers from Gotham and Blüdhaven. He knew Alfred was more sentimental than most were aware, and certainly more sentimental than Bruce himself. He wasn’t surprised when Alfred left the book out one day after being called away from his tea, only for him to discover that it was a new scrapbook. As far as he could tell, this was the seventh such book to date. 

That wasn’t counting the photo albums from Bruce’s own childhood and all five of his kids. 

The kind man had laid out the article he intended to glue to the newest page of his latest scrapbook. Everything was already set up, so Bruce decided to lend Alfred a hand. After he made sure the article, already trimmed neatly, was squared off and appropriately fixed in place, he gave it a quick scan. Then, he smiled and gave it a more careful read. 

He learned about how two of his children and their friends had stopped a bank robbery, saving nearly two dozen hostages and practically everyone on the same city block. There were no casualties. The thieves were all in police custody. Between the robbers’ efforts to cover the security cameras and an ‘unknown technological disruption’ no pictures or video footage was available. In place of a photo was a drawing of the heroes, based of the witnesses descriptions.

The image description read: _Nightwing and his Blüdhaven Bomben disrupt local bank heist_. 

The Nightwing costume was drawn remarkably well, but Dick looked just slightly larger than he actually was, as if he possessed Bruce or Jason’s brawny bulk rather than the leaner muscle of an aerial gymnast. Black Bat’s costume looked more frightening than in reality. Of course, Bruce had to consider that to a civilian who wasn’t her father, Black Bat probably looked that terrifying. Black Bat, Bluebird, and Spoiler were also drawn to appear much sexier than the young women actually were. Again, Bruce had to consider that it was his daughter and two of her closest friends depicted in the image. He likely would never view them as sexy no matter how they grew to look. 

On the previous page, there was a recent Gotham Gazette article on the closing down of a local crime ring. It was suspected that Red Hood and Red Robin were involved, but no one would confirm the claim. However, it was mentioned that the police had acquired too much information too quickly. It was also reported that the Mafiosos who were being taken away as the press arrived, were crossing themselves and talking about warrior angels dressed in red and black. Again, there was no footage. A traffic camera nearby should have captured the vigilantes as they entered and fled the scene, but it too suffered from an ‘unknown technological disruption’.

Flipping through the scrapbook once the latest additions were dry enough not to damage Alfred’s book, Bruce saw that there were several such articles. Each focused on the efforts of Batman and Robin, whom the Dark Knight had clearly taken under his wing again after years of working apart as often as together. Or Red Hood and Red Robin, who were obviously working together to clean up the darkest corners of Gotham City. Or Nightwing, who had become a beacon of hope for Blüdhaven. Or Black Bat and her friends, who were quickly building themselves a reputation as a force to be reckoned with in one of the most dangerous cites in the country.

He read of quite a few incidents he hadn’t been aware of. The articles were all filled with speculation and exaggeration, but Bruce could read the truth between the lines. He saw all the hours of research and planning his children put into stopping crime. He saw all the training and fighting they endured to keep the people in their respective cities safe. He saw all the sacrifices they made and risks they took to serve justice. He saw the heroes his children were growing into.

He knew Detective Bullock’s ‘unnamed source’ behind a flood of information that led to the arrest of a wealthy multiple murderer was Red Robin. He knew the reason behind the reported citywide drop in drug sales to minors was Red Hood. He knew the bat jewelery suddenly trending among young women in Blüdhaven were because they felt safer walking around the city for the first time in years because of Black Bat and the Blüdhaven Bomben. He knew the reason Blüdhaven PD was suddenly able to come down on criminal acts organized by their casino owners was Nightwing. He knew Robin was the instigating factor behind several local thugs giving away information on a local dog fighting club that the GCPD then closed down. His children weren’t implicated in any of the articles, but he knew it anyway.

Clearly, Alfred knew all that too, because he’d collected the articles along with the ones that more clearly mentioned or showed one of Bruce’s children. 

He saw several photos, taken from tourists and locals alike, of Nightwing free-falling between two of Blüdhaven’s tallest buildings. The images were grainy or blurry, due to the speed at which his eldest moved and the distance between him and the cameras. Despite this, it was clear enough to Bruce that his son used a grapple midair to redirect himself as he all but flew over the heads of the crowd below while he pursued the villains he was after. The end of the article showed several mugshots of the criminals, who were all arrested thanks to Nightwing’s efforts that evening. No one was seriously injured in the chase and the men caught were believed to be responsible for dozens of deaths during the course of their many other crimes. 

There was an article featuring Black Bat fighting the Electrocutioner, accompanied by a blurry, distant photo that looked more like a shadow battling a streak of lightning than two people. The article reported that the Electrocutioner had been hired by a local kingpin to assassinate the new DA, but had been thwarted by Black Bat. While she defeated the Rogue, Nightwing found evidence of the hire and dropped it off at the Blüdhaven PD, along with a bound and angry kingpin and several of his goons. 

There were several reports from different sources on sightings of the ‘new’ Red Robin. Speculation abound about whether it was the same boy as before in an updated costume or a new teenage hero taking over the legacy. It didn’t help that there weren’t any images of said hero. It seemed that wherever he went, electronic devices that might capture his image failed to work and he moved too quickly for a photographer that attempted to capture him with old fashioned film. When asked, detectives who were believed to have worked with or at least received assistance from Red Robin refused to comment or even outright denied the claims. Still, there were too many reports by captured criminals and witnesses alike for the papers to disregard the possibly new hero.

There were also reports about Red Hood. The vigilante was equally feared and adored. Some tales painted him as a heartless crime lord, willing to settle problems with his fists or guns without prejudice. Some spoke of him as the _real_ Dark Knight Gotham needed, fighting criminals at their own level and beating them at their own games. Others described him as an outlaw, taking out those in his way as he moved toward a goal no one could determine. Still others described him as a protector, standing between the desolate members of Gotham’s society and the low levels criminals they were forced to endure because they simply weren’t considered dangerous enough to be prioritized by Batman or the GCPD. 

There were dozens of articles about Batman and Robin. 

Apparently, there was widespread debate about just when the latest Boy Wonder had been given the costume. Some thought the boy was a recent addition, having only come when he started working more closely with Batman, as the first Robin had. Some thought he was still a recent addition but not quite that recent, having come when his costume changed back from black and red to the original colors. Others thought he had been around for years but simply changed his costume again during the last few. As usual, there was speculation on just how the boy was connected to the Dark Knight. Most assumed the current and previous Robin (or Robins, as the press never seemed sure just how many there had been) were related to Batman while others considered that the Dark Knight might be taking forgotten children off the streets and training them as soldiers for his war on crime. 

Naturally, there was still the debate on whether Batman should be allowed to continue as he was, defending the city from itself. Or whether the vigilante should be arrested for his own crimes. Of course, there was also the accusations that the rise in crime was somehow Batman’s fault and that he should be held accountable somehow. 

Along with all the debate and speculation were stories of the good Batman and Robin were doing in Gotham. Tales of them stopping nightly street crimes like robberies, rapes, and assaults were everywhere. As were stories of them stopping drug dealers and thieves. There were headlines about them fighting gangs and the mob as well as the occasional painted or masked villain. Of course there were plenty of stories of them hunting down Rogues that escaped from Arkham Asylum or Blackgate Penitentiary. 

There were interviews with people they had saved, speaking with gratitude and awe. There were quotes shouted out by criminals they had stopped, vows of seeking redemption and vengeance alike. There were photos and a few stillshots taken from security cameras, most were low quality but a few were decent enough to prove the Dark Knight truly existed to even the stoutest disbeliever. There were sketches by everyone from professional artists to five-year-olds that had reported seeing the Batman and drawn what they apparently witnessed. 

Reports of terrible crimes or disasters were brightened or softened by mentions of the heroes that were there to protect the city and take care of the citizens that called them home. Shrines and messages of thanks to various members of the Bat Family, if not the family as a whole, were starting to pop up all over Gotham and Blüdhaven. Banners were hung on houses and buildings. Posters were taped to windows. Signs were hung in small businesses. Statues, candles, and murals were put up in odd corners around both cities. 

While Bruce knew there were plenty of naysayers, protesters, and trolls who would rather see him and his children behind bars, that wasn’t what was depicted in the scrapbook. It showcased the people they had helped. The people who felt safer for having them in their city. The people who depended on them to keep the criminals from overtaking their streets and homes. The numbers were impressive, but even if they’d been smaller, it still showed Bruce that it was worth it. That he and his family were making a difference. 

Bruce smiled softly and put the book back where he’d found it. He was glad to be reminded of all the good he’d done, by himself and by teaching his children to do what they did. He was equally glad of what the book itself meant. 

Alfred was proud of him. Proud of his work and proud of the children he’d raised. 

Even at his age, even after fighting all the foes he’d come across and all of the crimes he’d solved, that meant a lot to Bruce. 

He picked up Alfred’s teapot and took it to the kitchen to reheat the water for when the man returned to it. It was just a small gesture to show his adopted father that he was appreciated and cared for as well. 

The smile that graced Alfred’s face when he saw the completed page in his scrapbook and refreshed his tea with the hot water was all the acknowledgment Bruce needed. 

He was making Gotham a better place, little by little. He’d raised and was continuing to raise some amazing children. He had a wonderful adopted parent who was proud of him. He had a family who loved him and would fight beside him to the very end. 

Some days, he was truly happy to be Bruce Wayne. 

Glancing at the framed article from the day he announced that he’d taken in an eight-year-old orphan, Bruce thought maybe it was time to consider starting his own scrapbook. 

After all, he was plenty proud of his children too.


End file.
